Oversight

ARTICLES ABOUT OVERSIGHT BY DATE - PAGE 3

By James Saft Jan 22 (Reuters) - When a financial advisor tried to sell my sister a fee heavy non-traded REIT last year, pitching it as an alternative to fixed income, I told her she ought to fire him. Then, having thought it over, I told her she ought to fire him, re-hire him and fire him again. Non-traded REITs are a species of real estate investment trusts, specifically ones which are not traded on an exchange and which typically lock investors in for seven or more years.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese authorities said they will put benchmark interest rates under stricter regulatory oversight, in response to global scrutiny after scandals over manipulation. Under measures to be introduced next year, the Japanese Bankers Association, which publishes the Tokyo interbank offered rate (Tibor), will be put under the oversight of the Financial Service Agency, the regulator said on Wednesday. The regulator will have supervisory authority over the banking industry body as the publisher of Tibor to police the setting of benchmark rates, and it can take punitive actions if necessary, including suspending operations and removing executives, the agency said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department's insurance office called for a bigger federal government role in insurance regulation, including new standards for mortgage insurers, and said state officials should improve oversight of the entire industry. The Federal Insurance Office's report to Congress on Thursday on ways to revamp U.S. insurance regulation was required by the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 after taxpayers bailed out massive insurer American International Group during the financial crisis.

WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department's insurance office on Thursday called for federal oversight of mortgage insurers, adding that state regulators should improve oversight of the entire industry. The Federal Insurance Office's report to Congress on ways to revamp U.S. insurance regulation was required by the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 after taxpayers bailed out massive insurer American International Group during the financial crisis. "In the short term, the U.S. system of insurance regulation can be modernized and improved by a combination of steps by the states and certain actions by the federal government," the report said.

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chile's central bank said on Tuesday that better oversight is needed for companies that have both financial and non-financial operations, noting that worries over the situation at one bank's parent company had hit its securities and pushed up its borrowing cost. Although it did not directly name the bank, the comments follow problems recently faced by CorpBanca and the bank's holding company, CorpGroup. CorpGroup, owned by Chilean billionaire Alvaro Saieh, has been putting assets on the chopping block following millions of dollars in losses racked up by its retail unit SMU. CorpBanca confirmed on Friday that it is studying a possible merger with a local or foreign bank, a deal that could reportedly be worth around $5 billion.

Since the Illinois State Police began releasing the names of instructors eligible to teach state-mandated concealed carry courses, residents have been filling up classes that will qualify them to carry guns in public. But in Illinois, there is no uniform concealed carry curriculum, and state police officials have no mechanism in place to determine whether each instructor is teaching what the law requires. The variation and lack of state oversight have raised concerns about whether everyone who is allowed to legally carry a firearm next spring will be properly trained.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel was on hand when an organization of female business executives paid tribute last year to his financial guru, Lois Scott, for her pioneering role in helping cash-strapped governments solve their problems. Many in the room shared an appreciation for Scott as a mentor, trailblazer and powerhouse in the public finance industry. But for some there was another connection - a financial stake in the long, successful career she built by leveraging her contacts and expertise.

The Elmwood Park-based bank controlled by Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz and his family conglomerate has been ordered by regulators to improve its compliance procedures. The consent order was signed Aug. 6 but only recently disclosed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. First Security Trust and Savings Bank, which turned a profit in the most recent quarter after a string of losses, was ordered to beef up oversight by its board of directors and that its compliance officer and compliance committee take a more active role at the bank.

(Reuters) - Federal agents conducted dozens of income-generating tobacco sting operations without approval during the last seven years and misplaced more than 2 million cartons of cigarettes, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday. Inspector General Michael Horowitz criticized the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in the report for "a serious lack of oversight", citing 35 "churning" investigations that were not reviewed by the agency's Undercover Review Committee for prior approval.